The march of innovation is relentless, thanks to engineers, chemists and plant breeders. Their goal is to improve your productivity, crop yield and income — and they kept on working even during the pandemic. Now, they can finally show you their progress in person.

When the gates open at Husker Harvest Days, Sept. 14-16, in Grand Island, these innovators will share a range of ag tech — from the hardware of new equipment to the software of new crop protection products. A visit to the show will be a two-year data dump for visitors.

Farm Progress has reached out to a few companies to find out what they want to share, knowing they’re saving the best for the day the show opens.

Yet from the new tools introduced last year for the Farm Progress Virtual Experience to new products announced in press releases, here are a few items to whet your appetite for a trip to Grand Island. But be aware that a lot more products will be on hand than could ever be listed here.

Driver-free approaches

The creation of the Omni platform at Raven Industries created a lot of buzz earlier in 2021 as the company pulled together disparate brands under a single umbrella.

What was once the Dot Technology autonomous tractor is now OmniPower, and what was once AutoCart has become OmniDrive. And while Raven was recently acquired by CNH Industrial, those autonomous machines will be on display at the show, too.

More on the majors

With Case IH, speed is the word, with news of new hay tools designed for faster road and field transport to boost productivity.

Over at New Holland, look for a new Speedrower self-propelled windrower lineup featuring a top-to-bottom update for the line. In addition, there are some cosmetic changes to the lineup of balers, harkening back to the New Holland heritage colors and appearance.

In addition, the company will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of its skid-steer loader line. And visitors may also see the T7 tractor with PLM Intelligence, as well as a CR combine celebrating 45 years of twin-rotor technology.

Agco is essentially bringing two years of new equipment to its stand — from the new Massey Ferguson 8S tractor to a first-time exhibit of the full Fendt lineup, including a machine being introduced to North America. The company has launched the FendtOne Operator Interface on its Fendt 700, introduced the new Fendt 900 Vario MT Track tractors, released the Fendt 300 Vario Series and rolled out the 1100 Vario MT tractors.

John Deere has a range of new tools, including the 8RX tractor with its add-on tanks and the X9 combine, to view. Details of other equipment on hand were still being worked out at press time.

Kubota, known for tractors, is also expanding its hay tool lineup with new disk mower conditioners, a new baler series and a wrapper. The company is also backing the new tools with expanded warranties.

Short-line rollouts

Short-line companies bring a range of innovations to the show every year. For 2022, with two years of new ideas to share, there should be plenty to see. A large number of the new products and innovations that the Farm Progress New Products Team finds at Husker Harvest Days comes from  short-line companies.

Here’s a sampling of what you’ll be able to find at the 2021 show:

AGuru. The  new company is exhibiting at the show for the first time with an innovative strip-till bar design.

Unverferth. A longtime innovator in the strip-till market, Unverferth is launching the Raptor strip-till tool. The company pulled together a range of innovations to prepare a strip for planting while preserving organic matter in the soil. And having covered Unverferth for many years at the show, the Farm Progress New Products Team knows there will be more new products at the exhibit to see as well.

Brandt. The company has launched a new Land Roller and will have one of the largest models at the show, with 36- and 42-inch-diameter heavyweight drums. And the design features what the company calls “true drum overlap.”

Brandt will also show off its new XT Grain Carts. These carts were on display during the Farm Progress Virtual Experience, and their features caught the eye of the small number of farmers invited to view the machines.

AGI. The company, which continues to innovate in the grain handling business, will be putting its new FieldLab and FieldProbe on display. The tools are new for 2021.

The FieldLab is a real-time, in-hand unit that provides grain analysis, providing spectrometer-level accuracy.

The FieldProbe can help determine optimum planting time and manage irrigation. The unit, when used with AGI SureTrack Field Data Manager, helps model growing degree units to project crop maturity to help manage harvest, too.

Highline. The company has launched the BP60 Bale Pro Series of bale processors, which will be on hand. The series offers a range of models and options to meet specific bale handling issues on the farm.

With more than 500 exhibitors on-site, this is a short list of new machines to check out, but it’s a sure bet there will be plenty of new tools and technologies to check out.